


Supernatural Hunger Games AU

by Fandom_Stuff



Series: Supernatural Hunger Games AU [1]
Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, Supernatural
Genre: Hunger Games, Supernatural AU - Freeform, some language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2020-03-08 17:21:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 20,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18899188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fandom_Stuff/pseuds/Fandom_Stuff
Summary: It’s the 60th Annual Hunger Games, Sam and Dean Winchester live in District 12 and reaping day is upon them. When Sam’s name is drawn from the reaping bowl Dean doesn’t hesitate to volunteer, but will he survive the games? Will he make it back home to his brother?





	1. The Reaping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Reaping Day is upon Sam and Dean. When Sam's name is called, Dean does the only thing he can think of to save him, he volunteers.

“Dean, I’m scared.” Sam’s voice reached Dean’s ears as he was tying the last knot on his boots.

Dean made his way over to his little brother and sat down next to Sam, he pushed a strand of Sam’s long hair away from his face, “don’t be scared Sammy, you won’t get picked, your name’s only in there once.”

“I’m not scared for me,” Sam said quietly, “I’m scared for you.”

Dean shrugged, “I’ll be fine.”

“ _Your_ name is in there twenty times.”

“I know, but It’ll be okay Sammy, I promise.”

Sam turned his puppy dog eyes to Dean, “what if it’s not?”

“Don’t think like that Sammy. Now come on, grab your coat, let’s go.”

Sam and Dean left their little shack of a house and made their way to the reaping square. The square was already filled with people and Dean made sure he held onto Sam’s hand tightly so they wouldn’t get separated. Once they made it through check-in Dean made sure Sam got to his age group and then he headed off to his own.

“Nervous?” A deep voice asked beside Dean.

Dean turned to his best friend, Castiel, and smirked, “you know me Cas, I don’t get nervous.”

“Sure you don’t.”

“Not for myself anyway.”

Cas’ eyes traveled to where Sam was standing, “he’ll be okay.”

“He has to be.”

A microphone squeaked and suddenly everyone grew quiet as the announcer, Chuck Shurley, adjusted the microphone stand. “Um, hello everyone, and welcome to another Hunger Games.” Chuck cleared his throat and then moved his hand towards one of the bowls. He reached his hand into the clear glass and pulled out a slip of paper. “The female tribute for District 12 is, Joanna Harvelle.”

Dean watched Jo ascend the stairs, her steps were with purpose and her jaw was set and when she faced everyone her expression was unreadable, Dean couldn’t help but think she might just have a chance at being the victor.

Chuck turned to the second bowl, the bowl that had the boys names, and Dean held his breath as Chuck’s hand sunk into the mass of names. Chuck unfolded the paper and then cleared his throat, “and the male tribute for District 12 is, Samuel Winchester.”

Dean swayed on the spot, and he felt Cas’ hand on his shoulder, stopping Dean from collapsing. “No,” Dean breathed. “No, no no.”

Dean watched as Sam, horror-struck, started to make his way towards the stage. Dean felt like his heart was being torn from his chest, he couldn’t watch his brother die, not when he could save him.

Dean broke away from Cas’ grip and raced out onto the path that led up to the stage. “No! Sammy!” Dean shouted. Sam paused to look at Dean as Peacekeepers came to try and subdue him. “Get off me!” Dean screamed. “Sam!” With one giant shove Dean managed to break free from the Peacekeepers and he stood there, panting, eyes fixed on his little brother. “I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!”

“Well, it appears we have a volunteer,” Chuck said.

Dean ran towards Sam and pulled him into a hug, “Sam, go find Jody, okay? She’ll look after you.”

“Dean-”

“I’ll see you soon, okay? I promise.”

Dean squared his shoulders and then walked up the steps to join Chuck and Jo on stage. Chuck turned to Dean with a smile, “and your name is?”

“Dean Winchester.”

“Was that your brother down there?” Dean nodded stiffly and Chuck’s grin grew sad, “that was a very brave thing to do.” Chuck turned back to the crowd and raised his voice, “ladies and gentlemen, the tributes for District 12, Joanna Harvelle and Dean Winchester! Shake hands you two.”

Dean reached out and shook Jo’s hand, she offered him a small smile and Dean smiled back in return, although his heart wasn’t in it. He knew if he ever wanted to see Sam again he couldn’t afford to make attachments, he couldn’t let himself be friends with the girl opposite him because, when the time came, he might have to kill her.

“Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor!”

They were led off stage and into two separate rooms where they would wait for their families to come and say goodbye to them. When Dean’s door swung open Castiel was the first person Dean saw. Dean didn’t stop to dwell on where Sam was as Cas stepped towards Dean and then paused, unsure of how far to go.

Dean closed the gap between them and gave Cas a hug. “This isn’t goodbye Cas, I’ll see you again.”

“I’ll be betting on you,” Cas replied. Their eyes locked for a second, green staring into blue, “goodbye Dean.”

Cas was led out of the room and then Sam and Jody were pushed inside. “Oh Dean,” Jody breathed as she pulled him into a hug.

“I’ll be fine Jody,” Dean said.

Dean dropped to the ground and gripped Sam’s shoulders. Sam was in tears and he fell into Dean’s arms. “You have to win.”

“I’ll try Sammy, I promise I’ll try.”

“I love you,” Sam whispered.

“I love you too.”

Before Dean knew it Sam and Jody were being ushered out of the room and Dean was alone again, one thought spinning through his mind. He would keep his promise to Sam, he would fight hard, he would win.


	2. The Capitol

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Jo are on route to The Capitol. They meet their mentors and take a look at the tributes for this years Hunger Games. Dean meets his prep team and the opening ceremony takes place.

Dean climbed into the train that would bring him and Jo to The Capital where they’d spend time doing interviews and training for the arena. Dean sat down in a chair and Jo sat next to him.

“Are you scared?” she asked. 

Dean shrugged, “not really.” 

“Of course you’re not, your mother was a victor, I bet you think you’re pretty safe with sponsors and all.” 

It was true, Dean’s mother Mary had been the youngest victor to ever win the Hunger Games. She was 13 when her name had been reaped and had used stealth and surprise as her strategy, keeping other opponents away by hiding in trees or stalking them through the woods where she’d attack unsuspecting tributes. It had come down to Mary and a boy named Max and Mary had out fought him, ending his life with a knife to the heart.

Dean sighed, “I don’t think that. I think I’m still going to have to fight to win the favor of sponsors.”

There was a moment of silence and then Jo said, “well, I wonder when we’ll meet our mentors.” 

Dean chuckled slightly. Their mentors would be the two previous victors of District 12, Bobby Singer and Rufus Turner; they were both old and crotchety but they had good hearts. Dean had lived next to them in Victor's Village when he was a kid, Bobby had won the games a few years before Dean’s mother and Rufus had won five years before Bobby. 

When Dean’s mother had died in a horrible fire, Dean’s family had been forced to move out of Victor’s Village. Dean had lived there with his brother and his father John, but when there was a mine explosion John had died, leaving Dean alone with Sam. It had been that way for almost two years and Dean had been dreading the time when Sam’s name would be eligible for the reaping, and as it turned out, Dean had been right to worry.

“They’re always late, I’m sure they’ll be along,” Dean replied. 

“Oh that’s right, you already know them,” Jo said. 

“Come on Rufus, they’re waiting!” Bobby’s voice drifted towards Dean and Jo before Dean could say anything. Bobby came into the room and Rufus followed him slowly. Bobby smiled at Dean, but Dean wasn’t compelled to smile back. Bobby collapsed in a chair across from Dean and Jo, “Dean,” Bobby said stiffly. 

“Hiya Bobby,” Dean replied. 

“You idjit,” Bobby growled, “how could you do something like this? How could you volunteer?” 

Dean sat forward in his chair, “would you rather it be Sam sitting here and not me?” he hissed back.

Bobby shook his head, “no of course not, but Dean-”

“But what? There was no choice Bobby, I promised my father I’d keep Sam out of the games, and that’s what I’m doing.” 

“You may have saved Sam today, Dean, but what happens at the next reaping? What if his name is called then?” 

Dean shook his head, “I won’t let that happen.” 

“You can’t stop it.” 

“I can try!” 

“Now, hey there, let’s all just calm down,” Rufus said. “I think Dean made a good choice and I think it’s going to serve him well; he is the son of a victor after all, people will be counting on him. I’m sure The Capital is already buzzing with excitement.” 

“Yeah that’s great for Dean and all, but what about me?” Jo snapped. 

Rufus turned his gaze to Jo and looked her up and down, “well you’re a pretty girl, work that to your advantage.” 

“Rufus,” Bobby hissed. 

“What?” 

“I was thinking something more practical for Joanna,” Bobby said. “She shouldn’t have to rely on her looks to get her in with sponsors and she shouldn’t have to be worried about hiding in Dean’s shadow either. I think she should just work with what she’s good at. I’ve known your mother Ellen for a while Jo, and she tells me that you’re smart and resourceful. I think the best course of action for you is to just be yourself. Do you think you can do that?” 

Jo nodded, “yeah.” 

“Alright, let’s take a look at the other reapings so you two can get an idea about who you’re up against,” Bobby said. 

Rufus turned on the projector and Dean and Jo turned their attention to the screen that was now showing the central square of District 1. Dean watched as each district drew names until finally the square for District 12 was shown and Bobby promptly turned off the screen. 

“Okay,” Rufus said as he clapped his hands together, “you’ve got some competition. Let’s go over each district.” 

Bobby nodded, “District 1: Michael and Abaddon. Michael’s father Carver is a victor and I’m sure he’s going to be doing everything he can to make sure his son wins the games. Michael will be a formidable opponent because he’ll also have had years of training.” 

“Abaddon will also have been trained, she may not have any victors in her family line, but she’ll be fierce and with Michael as an ally, she’ll be deadly,” Rufus added. 

“So basically, steer clear of those two, got it,” Jo said. 

“Okay, District 2: Lucifer and Meg. Now, Lucifer has come from a long line of bloodthirsty victors so he will be the one you’ll want to watch out for the most. He’ll know all the tricks and trades of the games and he’ll know how to win over sponsors. Meg’s mother was a victor a while back so she will have some training, I’m not sure how much of a opponent she’ll be but I can tell you not to underestimate her,” Bobby said. 

“District 3: Ed and Ava. They shouldn’t be a problem for you, but they may have a few tricks up their sleeves as well.” 

“District 4: Azazel and Lilith. Victor Henriksen will be the mentor for these two, and if I know anything about how he trains his tributes, these are two people who aren’t going to let anything stand in their way of winning. You need to be careful around them,” Rufus said. 

Dean nodded, “got it.” 

“Okay, moving on. District 5: Gadreel and Charlie.” Bobby and Rufus exchanged glances. 

“Garth.” They both said at the same time. 

“Yeah, Garth Fitzgerald will be their mentor. I wouldn’t worry about these two, they will be good fighters, but won’t kill ruthlessly just to win, they’ll try and be fair.” Bobby said.

“District 6: Harry and Kate. Again, I wouldn’t worry about these two, they don’t seem to be made of much.”  Rufus said.

“District 7: Benny and Bela. Benny will be a tough opponent just based on his build alone and Bela looks like she might be sneaky, so I’d watch out for her when you’re in the arena. Other than that, until you see them training, there’s not much I can say for them,” Bobby said.

“District 8: Samandriel and Gwen. Now Gwen’s cousin, Christian, won just a couple of years back, he was vicious so I’m sure he’ll be teaching Gwen all she needs to know about ripping throats out. I’d watch out for her.” 

“District 9: Adam and Tessa. They shouldn’t be a problem, they seem tame enough.” 

“District 10: Alistair and Madison. Hard to say, just keep a lookout for them in training.”   

“And finally, District 11: Uriel and Raphael. These two will probably give you some trouble. Gordon Walker is one hell of a mentor and he’ll teach them not to back down and how to fight hard.” 

“Well, everyone sounds just wonderful,” Dean said, “I can’t wait to meet them.”

“And what advice would you give to us about surviving in the arena?” Jo asked. 

“We’ll get to that once we know what you both can do,” Rufus replied. 

“Speaking of, would you like us to prep you for your interviews together, or separately?” Bobby asked. 

Dean shrugged, “I don’t care.” 

Jo shrugged too, “neither do I.” 

Bobby nodded, “why don’t we do separately then, that way it’ll give you each some time to tell us what you skills you think you have and we can help you figure out how to utilize them in the arena.” 

“Sounds great,” Dean said. 

“How much longer until we reach The Capital?” Jo asked. 

“A few more hours probably,” Bobby replied. 

“In that case, is there a place I can take a nap in?” Dean asked. 

Bobby grunted slightly and gestured towards the back of the train. “Dinner will be ready in about an hour, I’ll wake you.” 

“Okay,” Dean replied. 

Leaving the main room, Dean found his way to one of the bedrooms Bobby had pointed towards. The room held a double bed, a table, a chair, and a bathroom. Dean didn’t even bother going anywhere but the bed. The mattress sagged under him and soon he was asleep. 

By the time Bobby woke Dean, the sky outside indicated that it was late afternoon. Dean reentered the main room to find a long table laid out with different foods Dean had never seen before. Jo was already eating and when Dean sat down next to her she turned to him, “everything is so delicious, you have to try this,” Jo placed a big spoonful of some chicken, rice, and peach concoction on his plate. 

Dean dug into the food, relishing in the taste of everything he put in his mouth. Dean had never had such great tasting food before in his life, there wasn’t much of a variety in District 12. When they finished dinner, Jo went to get cleaned up and Dean found himself staring out the window of the train. He let his eyes wash over everything they passed and he focused on the sound of his own beating heart, knowing that in a week or so there might not be anything to listen to. Dean didn’t expect to win, he would try, of course he would try, he had promised Sam he’d make it home, but the last victor of District 12 had been Dean’s mother, and Dean knew that the odds were most certainly  _ not _ in his favor. 

Dean didn’t know what to expect in the games, no matter how hard he studied the other tributes he couldn’t be sure that what they were presenting to the public in terms of fighting and survival skills was all that they had to give. Dean also didn’t know what the arena would be like, it could range from a desert to snow capped mountains and once in the terrain Dean wasn’t sure if he’d be able to survive it. 

When they reached The Capital Dean and Jo were led off the train into the cameras of The Capital’s news reporters. 

“Dean Winchester, oh wow,” one of the reporters said as she thrust a microphone towards Dean’s mouth. “It’s just  _ thrilling  _ to have you as a tribute, your mother is such a famous victor, do you think you’ll follow in her footsteps?” 

Dean was feeling overwhelmed by all the attention and he felt Bobby’s hand on his shoulder pulling him away so Dean didn’t have to answer the question, which he was glad about.

****   
Dean was being poked and prodded and stripped naked by four people he didn’t even know, well they’d introduced themselves so he knew their names, Balthazar, Pamela, Ash, and Donna, but Dean was still highly uncomfortable with the way they were looking at him.

“He’s a fine young specimen, isn’t he?” Pamela said as her eyes traveled up Dean’s body. 

“I think he’s the best looking tribute we’ve ever had,” Balthazar agreed. 

“He’s  _ definitely  _ got some good qualities,” Ash added. 

“Oh yeah, you betcha,” Donna laughed through a smile. 

Dean fought to control the shiver and the blush that were trying to take over his body; his prep team was certainly an interesting bunch of people. Once Dean had been scrubbed clean of every ounce of dirt that could have possibly been on his body, his hair had been trimmed, and his fingernails and toenails clipped and filed, Dean - still unclothed- was told to stand in the middle of the room and wait for his stylist to arrive. 

Dean didn’t know who he’d been expecting, but it certainly wasn’t the short red headed woman that walked through the door. Even though Dean was a good five feet taller than her she held herself in such a way that made Dean feel small. Her heels clicked against the ground and her eyes scanned Dean from head to toe as she walked around him. After she was done she faced Dean and offered him a smile. 

“Hello, my name is Rowena and I’m your stylist.” She spoke with some sort of accent and Dean wondered if it was some Capital trend or if it was actually her real voice.

“Uh, hi,” Dean replied awkwardly. 

“I’ve got big plans for you and Joanna so you just hang tight and let me work my magic.” 

Dean let himself be dressed in a black skin-tight suit with a long flowing black cape and black calf-high boots. Dean was pretty sure he looked ridiculous but he wasn’t about to question Rowena’s choices, in all honesty she looked like a woman you didn’t want to cross. Once Dean was fully dressed, Rowena stood back to look at her creation. 

“Yes, yes, I rather think this will work brilliantly.” 

“He looks absolutely  _ dashing _ !” Pamela exclaimed in excitement as she eyed Dean.

“He’s going to knock ‘em dead,” Ash smiled. 

“Follow me outside to the chariots and we’ll meet up with Joanna,” Rowean said. 

Dean was herded outside by his prep team and then brought to a chariot pulled by two dark horses. Jo was already waiting there, dressed in the same outfit as Dean, with her blond hair tied back in curls that moved down her back. 

“Climb on up to the chariot now,” Rowena said. Jo and Dean pulled themselves up onto the platform and then turned to Rowena for further instructions. “Now, once your names are called you might feel a slight tingling as your clothes change color, but don’t worry it’s harmless fire.” 

“Fire!?” Jo exclaimed. 

“It’s fake dear,” Rowena reassured her, “and it’s going to look absolutely  _ stunning _ !”

Dean and Jo exchanged slightly fearful glances before their chariot started to move. Dean heard the names of the other tributes as they rolled out onto the path and listened to the cheers that accompanied them, some more than others, Michael and Abbadon got huge cheers and rounds of applause and so did Lucifer and Meg. Finally, Dean and Jo rolled out onto the runway and Dean heard a deep voice with an accent say: “And here we have Joanna Harvelle and Dean Winchester from District 12! I sure can’t wait to see how Dean fares in the arena, his mother is quite famous for being the youngest victor of the games and I’m sure Dean will have a few tricks up his sleeve just like his mother did!” 

Dean forced himself not to react to what the man was saying and keep his gaze ahead. Dean felt something warm start to trickle up his body and then in a wave of heat, that was followed by a breeze, Dean’s outfit started to change. Dean glanced at Jo to see that the once black suit was red with flames licking at the cape behind her, Dean knew he probably looked the same. There were gasps from the crowd at this sudden change and different man’s voice washed over him. “Did you see that Crowley?” 

“I sure did Dick,” Crowley replied. “Rowena Macleod has outdone herself again!”

Once the horses reached the end of the road Dean and Jo jumped down from their chariot to be greeted by Rowena, Bobby, Rufus, and Dean and Jo’s prep teams. “Oh, that worked  _ spendedly _ !” Rowena exclaimed.

“You looked great!” Donna said. 

“I actually got tears in my eyes,” Pamela added.

“Oh Jo, you were beautiful!” A blond haired girl squeaked. 

“Thanks,” Jo smiled, a blush forming on her cheeks.

Dean cleared his throat, “Jo, let me introduce you to my prep team.” Dean pointed out each member and they all smiled at Jo who smiled in return. 

“This is Rachel,” Jo indicated the blond woman. “Naomi, Asmodeus, and Andy.”

“Nice to meet you,” Dean said. 

Jo’s prep team regarded Dean politely and then swarmed Jo to bring her to go change out of the suit. Dean was left to his prep team and he let them bring him into a room where they stripped him of his flaming suit and helped him into a different casual outfit. 

Dean was then reunited with Jo and they were led to the top of a tall tower and into the penthouse where they were told to shower and get some rest. 

Dean had never felt a shower as nice as the one he was standing under. When he’d lived in Victor's Village before his mother died he had actually had the luxury of a shower, but after her death he had gotten clean by wiping himself down with a cloth that was dipped in warm water. This was the first actual shower Dean had had since he was four and it felt wonderful. 

Once he had showered Dean put on the pajamas that had been left out on his bed, they felt like silk and the bed Dean climbed into was even more comfortable than the one that he’d slept on in the train. He fell asleep quickly, wondering what the next day would bring. 


	3. Training and Interviews

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Jo begin their training. The final interview the night before the Games takes place.

 It was the first day of training and Dean was standing next to Jo in an elevator as it took them to the training center. Dean didn’t know what he was going to do when he got there, he wasn’t sure what to skills to show the other tributes. Dean decided that his first day he would see how he could do with weapons and then in the middle of the week he’d take some time learning basic survival skills, and during the last couple of days he’d go back to weapons and focus on the other tributes skills more actively.

He and Jo split up once they were in the training area, Jo heading for the archery section of the area and Dean heading towards the knives. Dean’s father had taught Dean to throw knives at a young age, it was a skill that John Winchester had learned when he was a boy and he wanted Dean to learn it too so he could have the skill if he ever needed it.

Dean picked up a knife and let the weight of it sink into his hand. Carefully working his fingers on the hilt of the knife Dean aimed at a target and threw. The knife landed in the right shoulder of the dummy and Dean readjusted his aim and threw again. This time the knife landed in the heart and Dean smirked to himself.

“Huh, not bad,” a voice said behind Dean.

Dean spun around quickly, his guard immediately raised. Benny from District 7 stood behind him. Dean eyed Benny warily, “thanks.”

“You’re from 12 aren’t you?”

Dean drew himself up to his full height, making him taller than Benny. “Yeah.”

Benny gestured towards the dummies, “that was no beginners luck, where did you learn to throw knives?”

Dean didn’t know how much of his secrets he should give away, but he found himself thinking Benny wasn’t trying to pick a fight with him - which was forbidden to do anyway- so Dean softened slightly. “My dad.”

“Where’d your Dad learn it?”

Dean shrugged, “dunno.”

Benny crooked an eyebrow, “well, mind if I try?”

Dean stepped out of the way, “be my guest.”

It took Benny six tries to hit the heart of the dummy and he turned to Dean with a sloppy grin, “knives aren’t my first choice, I prefer axes.”

“Right, you’re from 7, lumber.”

“Yup.” There was a second of silence before Benny said, “I think I’m going to go see what axes they have, see you around, chief.”

 _Chief?_ Dean didn’t have time to think about the nickname Benny had just so freely given him before Benny was gone, but, he couldn’t help thinking that maybe Benny wouldn’t be a bad ally. Dean hadn’t been planning on making alliances but he knew he wouldn’t stand a good chance in any arena alone, so if he had to pick someone, it might just be Benny.

Dean decided to go see how he would fair with a bow and some arrows. Jo was still there, nailing pretty much all bullseyes and Dean chuckled slightly as he picked up a bow, “you’re good at that.”

Jo smiled at Dean. “Yeah I guess so. I’ve never held a bow in my life, I guess it’s just a natural gift,” she joked.

Dean notched an arrow onto the string and took aim at the target. After a couple tries Dean got the hang of it and was also finding that he had a ‘natural gift’ for shooting. Dean liked knife throwing better but if he got his hands on a bow in the arena he’d also take that.  

By the end of the day Dean had tested pretty much every weapon the room had to offer, finding that he was still only the best at knife throwing and archery, although he could wield a sword if necessary.

Dean was now sitting at the large table in the penthouse eating dinner with Rufus, Bobby, Chuck- their escort who Dean hadn’t seen since the reaping, he’d just disappeared on the train and had finally chosen now to reemerge, and he was currently burying himself in a bottle of whiskey with no intention of even talking to anyone at the table- Jo, and Rowena. Rowena was talking about their outfits for the big final interview before the games and she was telling them she wanted them in black with flecks of red. Dean didn’t really care what he was wearing as long as he didn’t look completely ridiculous.

After dinner Bobby pulled Dean aside, “I think we should start talking about your interview.”

“Sure,” Dean said as he sat down on his bed and Bobby took the chair in the corner of the room.

“I want you to focus on Sam, okay? Play the audience’s heartstrings.”

Dean didn’t really want to _play the audience’s heartstrings_ but he knew it was something he’d have to do to get sponsors.

“You’re also funny, when you want to be, so use that as well, make them laugh so they’ll remember you.”

“They’ll remember me no matter what I do, I’m the son of one of the most famous victor's to ever win the games,” Dean pointed out.

“Yes you are, but don’t count on that to win you favors. These people are going to want to see how much of your mother you have in you, they’ll want to see you pushed to your limits like your mother was. You have to rely on everything else you’ve got to give to get sponsors. Do you understand me, boy?”

Dean nodded, “yeah, yeah I understand you.”

“Good. Now get some sleep, you’re gonna need it.”

Dean took along shower, choosing three different kinds of soap to wash his hair with and trying out all the different shower settings. Dean felt a wave of anger hit him as he was drying his hair off, it wasn’t fair. None of it was fair. How could The Capitol be filled with people who lived luxurious lives? There were 12 Districts out there with people dying everyday on the streets from starvation or disease while the citizens of The Capitol got to eat rich foods and shower with fancy soaps all the while watching children die for entertainment every year. It just wasn’t right.

As Dean climbed under the silky Capitol sheets, his hand drifted up to his neck where an amulet hung. Sam had given it to Dean one Christmas and to this day Dean still didn’t know how his little brother had gotten enough money to pay for it, but Dean had never taken it off, and if Dean was going to die in the arena, then he planned on dying with it around his neck.

****

Dean’s eyes traveled around the training area as he watched his fellow tributes try weapon after weapon and form alliances. Dean had already pegged the career pack, it would consist of the tributes from Districts, 1, 2, and 4, Michael, Abaddon, Lucifer, Meg, Azazel, and Lilith. Michael was the most skillful with a sword, Abaddon was great with a knife, Lucifer tended to enjoy just straight up hand to hand combat, Meg favored knives and she could shoot an arrow or two, Azazel liked swords, knives, axes, and tridents, or basically anything sharp, and Lilith was almost as good at knife throwing as Dean was, _almost_.

Dean had also marked a few other tributes as dangerous, Bela from District 7 was agile and cunning, Alistair from 10 seemed to be good with every weapon he tried out, and Uriel from 11 was strong and excellent with daggers and knives.

Dean had also marked out a few tributes that if he _had to_ he wouldn’t oppose to being allies with. The first one was, of course, Benny. Benny was stocky and strong and he could throw an ax from pretty much any distance and have it land accurately on his target. Benny was also, as far as Dean could tell, a good person, unlike his fellow District mate Bela. Another tribute that Dean found interesting was the girl tribute from District 5, Charlie. Charlie was smart and resourceful and could handle weapons if she had to. And finally, Jo. Jo was a quick thinker and had picked up on weaponry skills very quickly. If Dean had to ally with anyone, those three would be who he picked.

****

Dean watched as Raphael from District 11 disappeared inside the training area as she went off to impress the Gamemakers. She couldn’t have been gone more than five minutes before Dean’s name was called.

Dean still had no idea what he planned to show the Gamemakers when he walked into the room, so, he paused for a second before heading towards the knives. He felt the Gamemaker’s eyes on him, specifically the head Gamemaker Metatron, as Dean let the weight of the knife sink into his hand before he let it fly into the dummy. He threw five knives in about five seconds, and all of them landed in a perfect grouping in the dummies heart. Dean heard one of the Gamemakers make a noise as something clattered to the ground. Dean forced himself not to look at them, he kept his eyes focused on his next weapon of choice, the bow and arrow. Dean notched an arrow and let it fly. He shot three arrows, only two were dead center bullseyes, but the third one was still a nine so Dean counted it as a win. Finally, Dean decided that he would show the Gamemakers how quickly he could build and start a fire. Once the sticks were smoking in under a minute, Dean was dismissed.

Dean met up with Jo later as they were sitting on the big plush couch in the penthouse, gathered around the television to see the training scores. The Capitol logo appeared on the screen and then it cut to a picture of Michael with the number 11 under his name. Dean cursed under his breath, just as he had suspected Michael would be a formidable opponent. Abaddon scored a 9 and then it moved on to District 2. Lucifer racked up a 10 and Meg was given an 8 which meant that Michael was still the opponent to beat. Ed and Ava of District 3 scored a 4 and a 5. Azazel and Lilith took home a 10 and a 9. Gadreel and Charlie scored a 7 and a 6. Harry and Kate hit the lowest scores so far with a 2 and a 3. Benny scored a 9 - which Dean found himself grinning at- and Bela scored a 7. Samandriel and Gwen scored a 5 and an 8. Adam and Tessa tied with Harry and Kate, for lowest score, with a 3 and a 2. Alistair and Madison scored an 8 and an 5. Uriel and Raphael scored an 8 and a 7. And finally, Dean saw his face flash onto the screen and underneath his name was the number 11. Dean gaped at the screen, he had tied with Michael for the best score. Jo’s picture and name flashed up with a 9 underneath but Dean was still too shocked at his score to congratulate Jo.

Crowley and Dick’s voices reached them as the screen turned to them. “Well, well, well,” Crowley said with a chuckle. “This year is _certainly_ going to be interesting. We have a tie for best score between the male tribute from 1 and the male tribute from 12. I think we were all right in assuming that Dean Winchester might just take after his mother after all. His mother only scored a 7 during her training and ended up as the victor. Dean has scored an 11, which can only mean he’s got something up his sleeve.”

“I sure can’t wait for these games Crowley, I think it’s going to be one hell of a show.”

When the screen cut out Bobby turned to them, “well done, both of you,” he said. “I think those are the highest scores any tribute from 12 has gotten.”

“Yes, but it also makes you both targets,” Rufus added warningly. “The other tributes are going to be wondering what you’re so capable of doing to earn you those scores.”

“Rufus is right, you need to be careful out there.”

“Careful?” Jo laughed. “You do realize only _one_ of us is going to make it out of that arena alive. We can’t _both_ be careful.” With that Jo left the room and Dean felt the urge to go after her.

Dean knocked on Jo’s door and he got a muffled answer, “go away!”

“Jo, it’s me,” Dean said.

The door opened slightly and Jo peered through the crack, “what do you want?”

Dean held up his hands innocently, “I just want to talk.”

“About what?”

Dean rolled his eyes, “pudding and cream cakes,” he said sarcastically. “What do you think? The Games.”

“What about The Games?”

“Look, can I just come in?”

Jo sighed, “fine.”

She stepped aside and let Dean in. “Thanks.” Dean sat down in the chair that sat in the corner of her room and Jo took to her bed. “Rufus is right you know,” Dean began.

“About?”

“About our scores. They makes us targets.”

“ _Everyone’s_ a target,” Jo retorted.

Dean nodded, “yes, but I’ve been thinking that maybe we might work better together in the arena.”

“You want to be my ally?”

Dean shrugged, “I don’t see why we shouldn’t. We’re from the same District and we both have skill sets that I think would go good together.”

Jo looked at Dean, skepticism in her eyes, “I don’t know, Dean.”

“We don’t have to be,” Dean said, “but if you want to, I’m open to it.”

Jo nodded slowly, “I’ll think about it.”

****

Dean was standing backstage, clad in a black suit that sparkled with red flecks of flame; Jo was in the same outfit except she was in a skin-tight dress, with black eyeshadow that was dotted with red glitter. Dean was watching the screen that was backstage as Crowley’s voice filled the auditorium that was packed with Capitol citizens. “Everyone put your hands together for your interviewer, Gabriel T. Rickster!”

A man dressed in a sparkling green suit entered the stage with a smile, he had shaggy blond hair that had traces of green in it, which vividly reminded Dean of a snake. Gabriel raised his microphone to his lips and said. “Good evening Panem! It’s _so_ thrilling to be here hosting yet another round of Hunger Games interviews! I’m so excited to introduce you to all our _wonderful_ tributes as they open up to us and let us see into who they really are!” The crowd cheered and Gabriel beamed at them as he moved towards his red chair. “Now, without further adieu, let me introduce you to our first tribute from District 1, Abaddon Sands!”

Dean watched as tribute after tribute made their way onto the stage until finally Jo’s name was called and Dean felt a pit drop in his stomach, he was next. Dean didn’t really listen to Jo’s interview, he was too busy gripping the amulet Sam had given him and wondering if he’d ever see his little brother again.

The speakers backstage suddenly crackled and Gabriel’s voice filled the room, “now, I’m pleased to introduce you to, the male tribute from District 12, Dean Winchester!”

Dean’s feet worked on their own as they carried him out onto the stage. Gabriel extended his hand to Dean and Dean shook it before sitting down in the chair opposite Gabriel’s. Gabriel was grinning broadly at Dean as he looked him over.

“Well, aren’t you just a handsome young man,” he said. Dean heard some of the ladies in the audience giggle in agreement.

“Uh, thanks,” Dean replied, with a half smile.

“With your looks you _must_ have a girlfriend back home,” Gabriel said.

“Actually, I don’t,” Dean answered.

Gabriel gasped, “well I’ll be damned.” He turned to the audience, “you hear that ladies, he’s single!”

There were some squeals and Dean was pretty sure he saw someone faint, he held back a laugh before replying to Gabriel’s statement. “I didn’t really have time for girlfriends. I was always watching out for my little brother, Sam.”

Gabriel’s face turned solemn for a second, “ah yes. You volunteered for little Sammy, that was such a brave thing to do. What made you do it?”

Dean had to stop himself from shouting at the man across from him. _What made him do it? What kind of question was that?_ Instead Dean cleared his throat, _play to the audiences heartstrings_ , Bobby’s voice said in his head. “He’s my little brother, I would do anything for him.” Dean replied, “and I wasn’t about to let him die in the arena. I promised my father I’d look out for him, so that’s exactly what I’m doing.”

“Well, I think that’s just _wonderful_! Little Sammy is lucky to have you as a big brother.” Gabriel licked his lips and then leaned forward, “now, Dean, I don’t mean to pry, but what did you tell Sam before you left?”

Dean held his chin high and his hand once again found its way to the amulet, “I told him I’d try to win.”

“Aha! That’s my boy!” Gabriel shouted excitedly. “Now, you scored an _11_ in training, that’s just crazy, no one in the history of District 12 has ever scored an 11, how does that make you feel?”

 _You’re also funny, when you want to be, use that as well, make them laugh so they’ll remember you._ Dean smirked slightly, and went for some dry humor, “well, Gabriel, it was entirely unexpected. I’m not quite sure where they pulled an 11 out of what I showed them, but I was definitely just as surprised as everyone else.” This earned Dean a laugh out of the audience and out of Gabriel.

Once Gabriel had pulled himself together he said, “I know you’re probably tired of hearing this, but we’ve just _got_ to talk about your mother, Mary.” Dean had prepared himself for this, he knew his famous mother was bound to come up in his interview.

“What about her?” Dean asked.

“Well, she’s probably the most famous victor to ever win the games! We only got to see her in the arena, but what was she really like?”

Dean smiled fondly, “she was kind and loving, just like any mother would be. She was an angel.”

“And do you think you’re going to follow in her footsteps and win the games just like her?” Gabriel asked.

“I’m certainly going to try.”

Gabriel grinned and stood up, “ladies and gentleman, Dean Winchester!”

The crowd erupted into cheers and Dean made his way to join the other tributes as they stood on the platform above the stage. Gabriel then gestured to the tributes and raised his voice again, “I give you, the tributes of the 60th Annual Hunger Games! May the odds be _ever_ in your favor!”

****

Dean went to bed that night knowing it could very well be the last night he ever breathed air. He could die tomorrow. The reality of that thought was starting to set in and he felt sweat drip down his back as he stared at the ceiling, hoping that he’d live to see Sammy again.


	4. The Arena

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean says his goodbyes to Bobby before being placed in the arena.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of short chapter, but whatever. I'm really enjoying writing this, so many things about these two fandoms work so well together and it's really cool to see all the pieces come together as I write it! Hope you enjoy!

Dean and Jo were waiting to be led out to the hovercraft that would take them to the arena when Bobby entered their little room.

Dean offered Bobby a smile, “hey.”

Bobby didn’t return Dean’s smile he cut straight to the point, “I’m going to do as much as I can for you two in the arena, but you’ve also got to do as much as you can for yourselves.”

“We know,” Jo said.

Bobby nodded, “good.”

Dean stood up and pulled Bobby into a hug. “Bobby you’ve got to promise me something, if I don’t make it back home you have to look out for Sam, make sure he’s getting enough to eat and going to school. Please Bobby, promise me you’ll look out for him.”

“I’ll try my best,” Bobby replied, clapping Dean on the back.

Dean pulled away, “thank you.”

“So,” Jo said from where she was sitting in the corner, “have you got any advice for us?”

Bobby smirked, “stay alive.”

****

Dean stood in a gray room, his eyes fixed on the capsule that would take him into the arena. He was dressed in lightweight clothing and watertight boots so Dean expected at least some of the terrain to involve water. The door at the far end of the room opened and Rowena came into the room, carrying Dean’s amulet in her hands.

“Oh thank God,” Dean said as she handed it to him.

“It almost didn’t pass,” Rowena said, “but I pulled some strings for you.”

Dean slipped the amulet back around his neck, “thank you.”

Rowena straightened Dean’s jacket and then reached up and touched his face, “you do good out there, you hear me?”

“I will.”

Rowena’s eyes flickered to the capsule, “it’s time.”

Dean nodded stiffly and let Rowena guide him towards the glass cylinder. The moment Dean stepped inside, the glass snapped shut around him. There was a second of silence and then there was a hiss and Dean started to move upwards. Dean was bathed in golden light as his capsule broke the surface of the arena and the countdown started.

The first thing Dean saw was the Cornucopia, overflowing with weapons; there were a few backpacks strewn around as well that Dean was eyeing. The arena was part forest part marshland, which explained the watertight boots, and there also appeared to be a large wheat field; Dean knew he’d fair the best in the forest part of the arena so that’s where he planned to go. Dean couldn’t see Benny or Jo so he assumed they were on the other side of the Cornucopia. Dean readied himself on the edge of his pedestal, ready to run for the weapons.

10….9…..8…..7….

Dean’s hand went up to his amulet and he gripped it tight.

5….4….

“This one’s for you Sammy,” Dean muttered.

...1

Dean pushed off of the platform and sprinted towards the Cornucopia. He grabbed a backpack on his way and reached the Cornucopia just as Abaddon did. Dean’s hand closed over a machete and he swung it at her, catching the blade on the side of her arm, before grabbing a knife and sprinting out of the way before more tributes arrived. Dean could hear Abaddon hot on his heels so Dean made a fast decision, zig zagging quickly to the side he threw his knife behind him and it caught Abaddon in the shoulder, sending her to the ground.

As Dean was heading towards the trees another knife came flying towards him, but it was poorly aimed and it landed just short of Dean’s leg, but it allowed for Dean to pick it up. Out of the corner of his eye Dean saw Michael skwer a blond haired boy from District 9, Adam, with a spear.

Dean managed to reach the safety of the trees without running into any more tributes, but he didn’t stop running until he was sure there was nobody following him. Dean paused by a big oak tree to catch his breath and look through his belongings. Dean unzipped his backpack to find: a water canteen, water purification tablets, a sleeping bag, a small coil of rope, two packs of rations, and box of matches. Dean counted himself lucky, with the backpack, machete, and knife he wasn’t off to a bad start.

Dean knew that if he wanted to have any chance of winning he would have to find a water source, and fast. He started to make his way through the forest, treading lightly so as not to alert any of the other tributes, or anything the Gamemakers had decided to put in the arena, of his presence. Dean had been walking for almost five minutes when the sound of a canon made Dean freeze. Dean counted as five more canons went off, meaning that six tributes had died in the bloodbath.

Dean walked on for a few more minutes before deciding to climb a tree so he could get his bearings. Dean spotted a stream maybe a mile away and decided that that would be the best way to go, he just hoped he wouldn’t run into anyone on the way.

Dean reached the stream just as the sun was beginning to sink in the sky. Dean scouted out the area around the stream for any tributes before he approached it and then filled his canteen and purified it. It took all his willpower not to down the whole flask before it was done purifying. By the time the water was clean the sun had disappeared and Dean was sitting in a tree about three minutes away from the stream. As Dean took his first sips of water the anthem started to play and the faces of the dead tributes were projected into the sky. Dean watched the faces of- the boy from 3, Ed, the girl from 6, Kate, the boy from 6, Harry, the boy from 8, Samandriel, the boy from 9, Adam - whom Dean had seen killed by Michael-, and the girl from 10, Maddison- flash through the sky. Dean felt relief wash over him, Benny and Jo were still alive.

Dean stowed his canteen in his backpack and then pulled out the sleeping bag and slipped into it, letting his back rest along a thick tree branch, Dean hoped to God- if there was a God- that he wouldn’t fall out. Miraculously, he fell asleep, his hand hanging loosely to the amulet around his neck and thoughts of making it home to Sam drifting through his dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case ya'll want to know who killed who and in what order:  
> Harry (24th)- Killed by Lilith  
> Adam 23rd)- Killed by Michael  
> Maddison (22nd)- Killed by Meg  
> Samandriel (21st)- Killed by Abaddon  
> Kate (20th)- Killed by Bela  
> Ed (19th)- Killed by Gwen


	5. Dream A Little Stream Of Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Very short chapter. This chapter is probably going to be the most mundane chapter of this series, so enjoy it while it lasts.

Dean woke to the sound of a canon going off, which nearly caused Dean to fall out of his tree. “Son of a bitch,” Dean cursed to the open air as he steadied himself. Dean quickly gathered his things and descended the tree. He didn’t know how close he was to the dead tribute, and he didn’t know how they had died, if there were tributes making kills this early in the morning then Dean couldn’t stay in his tree any longer, he had to move. Dean refilled his canteen and then let it purify as he set off.

Dean moved quickly, yet soundlessly, through the woods, he could hear the blood pumping in his ears as he scanned the trees for tributes and held his machete at the ready. Dean made it another couple of miles before he decided to climb a tree again to see where he was. Off in the distance Dean made out the stream he had come from and the sparkling gold of the Cornucopia, but he didn’t see anyone, or anything, else. 

A low growl came from Dean’s stomach and he realized just how hungry he was. Dean climbed down from the tree and pulled the coil of rope from his backpack before he set out to make some snares. While Dean waited, hoping that something would get caught in his traps, he allowed himself to have some of the dry nuts and berries that made up his rations. 

After a couple of hours Dean went to check his snares but he came back empty handed. “Damn it,” Dean muttered as he sank back to the ground, he’d try again tomorrow. 

The rest of Dean’s day went by slowly, with Dean trying to ignore his hunger as he sipped slowly from his water canteen. No more cannons were heard that day and as Dean was settling down for the night, the Capitol emblem appeared in the sky and showed the face of the girl from District 9, Tessa. Dean found himself wondering how she died as he slipped off to sleep. 

 

****4 Days Later****

There hadn’t been another death in four days and Dean’s stomach was growling something awful, his rations were nearly gone and he was starting to be unable to keep water down with his empty stomach. Dean had tried to hunt everyday, setting traps, going after anything animal-like that he thought he saw, he had even scavenged for berries or plants, but there didn’t seem to be anything edible, that Dean could find, and he was starting to grow concerned. 

What if there was no food in the arena at all? What if the careers were the only ones that had food? Dean was not about to let himself die of starvation, he’d had ample chance at that in District 12 and he did not intend to end up going out that way after all, Dean was not about to be the next tribute to die. So, he found himself heading back towards the small stream he had discovered on his first day. The trek was nothing new to him, Dean had decided to stay within a mile or so of the stream so he could easily refill his canteen without giving other tributes an opportunity to get close to him. 

As Dean was filling his canteen he saw something silver move beneath the waters surface and Dean’s heart fluttered in his chest, fish. Dean stared at the stream and watched as more little fish swam past him. Quickly as he could Dean plunged his hand into the water and grasped around for the small fish. It took Dean three tries before he managed to get one. 

Dean killed the fish and then decided that it was safe enough to make a small fire to cook it. Once the branches he’d collected started to crackle and burn, Dean gutted the fish and placed it on a rock to put over the coals. When the fish was finally done it took all Dean’s strength not to eat it quickly, years of living in District 12 and not always having enough food had taught Dean that, when you did get food after days of not having any, you couldn’t eat it all at once or you’d make yourself sick. Dean forced himself to take small bites of the fish, letting the strength return to his body. One fish wasn’t going to be enough to sustain him but Dean didn’t want to risk another one until he knew that this one wouldn’t make him sick. Out of all the Games Dean had watched, he knew that sometimes the Gamemakers made certain things in the arena inedible. 

When Dean finished picking the fish bones clean he decided that it was probably safe enough to take a quick bath in the stream. Dean stripped off his clothes and then waded into the stream, it was deeper than Dean had first thought but the cold water was refreshing and he took his time, scrubbing his hair and body of all the dirt and grime he’d picked up in the first couple of days. Once he was done, he put his clothes back on and sat back down by his dying fire. He wondered if Sam was watching him right now and in the hopes that he was, Dean found his hand wrapping around his amulet and he offered a smile up to the sky. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tessa died by poisonous berries, just in case you wanted to know.


	6. Bites and Bruises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean runs into another tribute and together they discover a toy from the Gamemakers. Dean has a little incident with the careers.

 

Dean had been living off of fish, which he’d deemed safe to eat, for the past few days now. The arena had been quiet, almost too quiet, there were no deaths and Dean hadn’t seen another tribute since the Bloodbath, not that he was complaining, but it was odd. Dean was happy with his set up near the stream but he was starting to think that his situation was almost too good to be true. 

Dean decided that he was going to take a quick discrete trip to the Cornucopia to see what the careers were up to. Shouldering his backpack, Dean began to make his way towards the careers. Dean’s thoughts were the only company he had as he trekked carefully through the forest.  _ This is dumb. You’re going to get yourself killed. And then who would look out for Sam? Turn back.  _ But Dean ignored his thoughts and within fifteen minutes he was crouched in the bushes outside of the careers camp. 

Dean watched with a smirk as Meg helped smear some sort of cream onto Abaddon’s wounds, the wounds Dean had given her, before giving her a fresh bandage. “Next time, do it yourself, I’m not your fucking nurse.” 

“I never asked you to be,” Abaddon snapped back. 

“Hey, you two, cool it,” Michael said. 

Meg rolled her eyes, “we were just talking.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t want any fighting between us until we have to or we won’t be able to work together to take out the other tributes,” Michael said. 

Meg stood up and bowed to Michael, “of course,  _ your excellency _ , I will do whatever you wish.” 

Lucifer snickered from where he was sharpening his knife on a rock, “would you relax Michael, we’re all  _ friends _ here.” 

“Why are we waiting around anyway?” Lilith asked from where she was leaning against the Cornucopia, a knife in her hands. “It’s been  _ days _ and there haven’t been any deaths, we should go out and find someone to kill, I’m tired of doing nothing.”

“Lilith has a point,” Azazel said. “Why haven’t we gone after anyone?” 

“We’re giving everyone time to think they’re safe,” Michael replied. “And we were waiting for Abaddon to get better.” 

“I  _ am  _ better,” Abaddon said, “it hardly hurts now.” 

“Don’t lie, I’ve seen your wounds, that 12 boy got you good, you’re lucky to be alive,” Michael spat. 

“I still killed that boy from 8 though,” Abaddon retorted. 

Michael laughed, “that boy barely even put up a fight.”

“Hey, Michael,” Lucifer said as he came to stand between Michael and Abaddon, “what did you just say about fighting? Take a breath and calm down.” Michael just glared at Abaddon before he walked over to some of their supplies and pulled an apple from a bag. “Now, I think Lilith is right,” Lucifer said, “we should go see if we can find any tributes, we’ve allowed them to think their ‘safe’ for long enough.” 

Dean didn’t dare to move as he watched Lucifer, Azazel, Lilith, and Meg gather some weapons so they could go hunting. Michael and Abaddon stayed with the rest of the supplies at the camp and the career pack set out, blood in their eyes. Luckily for Dean, they went out in the opposite direction from where he was crouching, so Dean waited another couple of minutes before retreating. 

Dean walked swiftly through the forest, this had been a bad idea, the careers were sending out hunting parties and Dean had made himself a target by coming closer to their camp. 

As Dean was passing a large oak tree he heard a twig snap to his left. Turning quickly, weapons drawn, Dean eyed the brush, his heart pumping fiercely in his chest. Dean stayed frozen to the spot for another minute before he carefully started to walk on. Another twig snapped and now Dean was certain someone was watching him. 

Dean pretended not to hear the snap and he walked behind a tree, making some noise that would have sounded like he sat down. Dean stood with his back against the tree, his hands clasped around his weapons. There were a few more little rustles from the bushes before a figure charged towards Dean, it was the girl from District 7, Bela. Dean ducked under her  swinging arms and lashed out his his knife, just barely managing to knick her forearm. She was quick, and soon Dean found himself on the ground, his knife and machete out of reach and Bela on top of him.

Dean wrapped his legs around Bela’s waist and flipped her over, pinning her hands behind her head. Bela struggled under Dean’s grip and Dean reached for his knife and his fingers closed around it, just as a low growl sounded behind him. Bela’s eyes went wide with a new look of terror and Dean quickly scrambled off of her, making a dive for his machete. Dean started to run, Bela on his heels. Dean felt fingernails digging into his arm as Bela pulled him backwards, causing Dean to trip and fall. 

Dean saw it now, the creature that was chasing them was a wolf and it’s yellow eyes fixed onto Dean as he fell. Dean was up in an instant, chasing after Bela, the wolf gaining on him with every passing second. Dean let out a scream as teeth bit into his right leg. Dean swung his machete blindly behind him and heard a yelp as the blade nicked the wolf’s muzzle. 

Dean was running again, blood spilling from his leg, and his eyes fixed on the figure of Bela moving through the trees. Even with his bad leg Dean was starting to gain on her. Dean pulled his knife from the sheath that hung from his waist, aimed, and threw. The knife hit home in Bela’s back and she collapsed with a scream, allowing Dean to surpass her. 

A few moments later Dean heard Bela’s shrieks as the wolf tore into her. Dean didn’t dare look back when he heard the canon, he just kept running until he couldn’t run anymore. Dean wondered if Bela’s death would count as his kill or if it would be filed under, Death by Gamermakers. Dean didn’t really have time to care as he scaled a tree and let himself catch his breath before daring to look at the damage the wolf had caused. 

There was a distinct pattern of teeth marks in his leg with blood still oozing from it. Dean rinsed the cut with some of his water, clearing away as much of the blood as he could, then he dug in his back for his little bit of rope and cut off a small length to tie around his leg as a tourniquet. Once he’d tied the rope he cut off the top part of his sleeping bag and wrapped that around the wound before securing it with more rope. 

When he was done he sat back in the tree, allowing his heart rate to return to normal and gracing his parched lips with some water. Now that the adrenaline had stopped pumping through him Dean felt the full pain of the bite prick him. “Fuck,” Dean growled as he clenched his teeth together and shut his eyes, trying to focus on anything but the stinging sensation working its way up his body. 

 

It was mid afternoon when Dean ran out of water and was forced to climb down from the tree. The only source of water Dean had found was the stream, so he started to make his way back there. It was going to be a long walk with his bad leg, but Dean gritted his teeth and forced himself to persevere. 

Dean was halfway there when he heard laughter and voices up ahead. He hid behind a tree and watched as the careers surrounded the girl from 8, Gwen.

 “Please, just let me go!” she begged.

“What do you think Lilith? Should we let her go?” 

Dean watched Lilith twirl her knife slowly in her hands, “hmmm.” She kneeled down on the ground and let her fingers lightly pull Gwen’s chin upwards. 

“Please,” Gwen pleaded, tears streaming down her face. 

Lilith laughed wickedly, “you’re not worth it.” 

Gwen tried to scramble away from Lilith but Azazel and Meg blocked her path and Lilith advanced, “no, please!” 

Dean watched as Lilith raised her knife and then plunged it into Gwen’s chest. Gwen let out a strangled cry as Lilith twisted the knife in further, until finally, Gwen stopped moving and the canon sounded. 

Dean’s hand tightened around his machete as he pulled himself back behind the tree, hoping no one had seen him. 

“Let’s get out of here so the hovercraft can come pick her up,” Meg said. 

“Should we go back to camp or keep searching for tributes?” Azazel asked. 

“I like the sound of looking for tributes,” Lilith replied. 

“Me too,” Lucifer said. Dean didn’t like the sound of Lucifer’s voice, suspicion wavered in it. “Let’s go this way.”

Dean’s stomach did a somersault as the footsteps of the careers shifted towards the direction Dean was hiding. Dean knew it was either, stay behind the tree and be spotted when the careers were practically on top of him, or run now and gain a head start. Dean chose the latter. 

Dean sucked in a mouthful of air and then sprinted out from behind the tree. “It’s 12! After him!” Lucifer shouted. 

Dean’s leg hurt like a mother, but he forced himself to run on it like there was nothing wrong. Dean was faster than the careers but he was quickly becoming tired and he could feel blood seeping through the bandage he’d secured to his leg. Hands grabbed Dean’s backpack and Dean found himself stumbling to the ground, Lucifer on top of him. 

Dean struggled to free himself but the older boy was stronger than him and Lucifer’s hand came up to Dean’s throat. Dean spluttered and choked as the other careers laughed at him. “I’m not sure what was so special about you to earn you an 11 in training, but I’m not going to wait around and find out,” Lucifer crooned. Dean struggled even more, feeling the breath leaving his lungs as he coughed and gagged. One thought was racing through Dean’s head as he stared up at Lucifer,  _ Sammy don’t watch, please Sammy don’t be watching this. _ But Dean knew Sam  _ was  _ watching, probably screaming and crying at the tv at this very moment. As if reading Dean’s thoughts Lucifer cackled, “you’re going to die 12, and that freak little brother of yours is going to watch as I make you suffer.” 

“No,” Dean croaked out. “No.” Dean’s hand closed over Lucifer’s wrist and then he brought hips up and flipped Lucifer over. Lucifer crashed off of Dean and Dean gasped and coughed as air filled his lungs. Dean reached around for his machete but a boot kicked it out of the way and Dean looked up to see Lilith. 

“Nice try,” she smirked. With a laugh she kicked Dean in the face, sending Dean flying backwards where he landed on the ground with a thud. 

Lucifer had regained his feet and was standing over Dean again, a sneer on his face. “That was a clever trick, but I won’t make the same mistake again.” He gestured towards Meg and Azazel and the two careers surged forward, pulling Dean to his feet where they held him as Lucifer threw punch after punch at Dean’s face and gut. Each hit made Dean see stars and he spat blood onto the ground as his legs gave out under him, but Azazel and Meg made sure he didn’t fall. 

_ This was it _ , Dean thought,  _ this was how he died, he wasn’t ever going to see Sam again, his promise was going to be broken.  _

Suddenly, Lucifer’s punches stopped and Dean was being dropped to the ground. Dean crumpled when he hit the dirt and he felt more blood dribble out of his mouth. Dean heard the sound of fighting and he struggled to his feet just in time to see Benny grab Lilith from behind and place a knife to her throat. 

“No one moves, or she dies,” Benny growled. 

“Like we care,” Lucifer hissed. He took a step forward and Benny didn’t hesitate, he drew the blade across Lilith’s throat, cutting off her scream and sounding the canon.

Dean’s eyes landed on his machete that was just behind Lucifer and he slowly inched towards it. All the careers were moving towards Benny, weapons raised, and just as Lucifer let out a cry and flung himself at Benny, Dean’s hand closed around the hilt of the machete. He swung it forward where it made contact with Lucifer’s back, drawing a long gash across his flesh. Lucifer screamed and fell to the ground, but unfortunately, so did Dean. Meg and Azazel turned to see what had happened and Benny took his chance and raised his knife, aiming for Meg. Azazel pushed Meg out of the way just in time and the knife caught him in the arm as the two of them hit the ground. 

Benny ran past them and Dean felt an arm wrap around his shoulders, pulling him upright. “Benny,” Dean gasped as more blood pooled from his mouth. 

“I’ve got you Dean, you’re not dying today, come on,” Benny said gruffly as he half-carried half-dragged Dean away into the forest. 

Dean didn’t know how long they’d been walking but Benny finally stopped by a pile of rocks. He set Dean down against a tree and then pulled away a few of the rocks from the pile to reveal an opening. “You found a freaking cave?” Dean gasped in surprise as Benny returned to help Dean get up. 

“That I did, Chief,” Benny said. 

Dean let Benny help him into the cave and once he was situated Dean took in his surroundings. There was a stock of berries and roots in the corner of the cave, Benny’s backpack was lying next to it, and Dean spotted another machete and knife sitting beside the backpack. 

“Seems like you’re pretty well off,” Dean coughed as he tried to sit up further.

“Yeah I did okay,” Benny agreed. “Now, shut up and let me tend to your wounds.” 

Benny pulled a first-aid kit from his pack -something Dean’s pack had lacked- and started to clean the cuts and bruises on his face. When he’d finished with those his eyes turned to the improvised bandage on Dean’s leg. “What’s that from?”

“Wolf,” Dean replied. 

“A  _ wolf _ ?” Benny echoed in horror. 

“Yeah, it killed Bela,” Dean said. 

Benny snorted lightly, “serves her right.” 

Dean cocked his head to the side, “I didn’t know you had so much anger towards her.” 

“She screwed my family over two winters ago when she stole our firewood,” Benny replied stiffly. “I’ve been hoping karma would bite her in the ass.” 

Dean laughed, “well, you got what you wanted.” 

“I guess so.” Benny started to peel the bandage off Dean’s wound and Dean winced. “That’s one nasty bite,” Benny commented as he untied the tourniquet and started to clean the wound. 

“Yeah, it hurts like a bitch too,” Dean replied. 

“Well, I’ll get you patched up don’t you worry.” Benny placed a real bandage on Dean’s bite and then handed Dean some berries and roots. “Here, eat.” 

“Where’d you get these? I tried to find berries and stuff but there wasn’t anything.” 

“Yeah, that’s because they’re in the ground,” Benny replied. 

“The ground?” 

“Yeah. I was practicing my knife throwing and the knife landed in the ground, and when I went to retrieve it I found berries growing in the roots of the trees.”

“Damn, the shit these Gamemakers come up with,” Dean laughed as he popped a berry into his mouth. 

They made small talk as the day wore itself out and only when the anthem started to play did they stop talking. Dean watched the sky through the entrance of the cave and saw Bela’s face appear, followed by Gwen, and then Lilith. The anthem ended and Dean found himself holding his amulet again.

“What’s your deal with that thing anyway?” Benny asked from the other side of the cave. 

“What?” Dean asked, his mind snapping out of his thoughts about Sam. 

“Your necklace, what’s the deal with it?” 

Dean’s hand dropped from the amulet and he met Benny’s eyes, “my brother gave it to me.” 

Benny’s eyes rounded in understanding, “I see.” 

“Did you bring a token from home?” Dean asked. 

Benny shook his head, “no, I don’t have anyone at home, not anymore.” 

“What happened?” 

Benny sighed, his gaze taking on a far off look, “well, my mother and little sister died from frostbite two years ago, when that bitch Bela stole our wood, I didn’t find out until she whispered it to me when we were reaped. Then this past year my father died from an ax accident.” 

“I’m sorry,” Dean said. 

“Yeah,” Benny said softly. “Well, that’s enough sappy talk, you should get some sleep.” 

Dean nodded stiffly, “yeah okay.” 

Dean drifted off, wounds stinging, and bruises throbbing, his hand, like always, clutching his amulet like it was a lifeline. 


	7. Smoke on the Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seeing as there haven't been deaths in days, the Gamemakers decide to spice things up a bit.

 

It had been at least two days since Dean had been attacked by Lucifer and there had been no more deaths, Dean attributed this to the fact that Benny had not only killed Lilith but he’d injured Azazel as well and Dean had given Lucifer something to remember him by. 

He and Benny were currently a little ways away from the cave digging up more roots. “How’s your leg doing today?”

“Still hurts,” Dean grumbled as he yanked a particularly stubborn root from the ground, spraying himself with a significant amount of dirt. “Son of a bitch,” Dean cursed as he spit out some of the dirt and attempted to brush himself off. Benny let out a chuckle. “What’s so funny?” Dean growled. 

“Nothing, just, I can’t believe this is our lives right now. We’re in an arena filled with children trying to kill each but you’re mad about some dirt getting in your mouth.” 

Dean shrugged as he pulled another root from the ground, this time avoiding the spray. “I guess it is a little funny.” 

Benny dusted off his hands and then stood up, “I think we have enough for now, we can get more tomorrow.” 

Dean nodded, “yeah.” Dean made to stand up but his bad leg collapsed underneath him. “Shit,” Dean hissed. 

“Dean!” Benny rushed over to help him stand but Dean tried to brush him off. 

“I’m fine, I’m  _ fine _ .” 

“You’re not fine, I think that leg is infected,” Benny said. 

“Oh, ya think?” Dean spat as he finally let Benny help him towards the cave. 

Just as they were about to enter it, the sound of a chime made them freeze. Drifting down from the sky was a silver parachute, it landed beside Dean. “Well I’ll be damned,” Benny said, “someone out there likes you.” 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, help me open it.” Dean slumped to the ground and Benny handed him the parachute. Dean tore into it and found a tub of yellowish gel and a note. 

**This should help with your leg problem. I’m rooting for you, boy. Stay alive. - B**

“Thanks Bobby,” Dean muttered. Dean handed Benny the tub of gel, “here, help me apply this.” 

Benny tore Dean’s bandage off, cleaned the nasty wound underneath, and then began to apply the gel. Dean hissed in pain as it made contact with his skin but a few seconds later he sighed in relief. “Feel better?” Benny asked. 

Dean nodded, “yeah, loads.”

 

A few hours later Dean was building a fire when Benny returned to the cave with some fish. “Where’d you find that?” Dean asked. 

“There’s a river about a five minute walk from here,” Benny replied. “Here,” Benny tossed Dean his canteen, “I filled that up for you.” 

“Thanks,” Dean grinned. 

“I see you’ve got the fire started,” Benny said as he sat down and started to gut the fish.

“Yup,” Dean replied as he picked up one of the fish beside Benny and started to dig into it with one of Benny’s knives. 

Once they’d finished they placed the fish over the fire and sat back to wait for it to cook. “You’re pretty good at fires,” Benny commented, trying to fill the silence. 

Dean shrugged, “I kind of had to be, coal District and all.” 

“Right.” Benny flipped the fish over with his knife and then sat back, “what’s 12 like anyway?” 

Dean scoffed slightly, “apart from children dying of starvation on the streets and never having enough money, or food, it’s great.”

Benny nodded somberly, “we struggle with food sometimes but we usually have at least something to eat everyday.” 

“Well count yourself lucky, I’ve gone days without food before.” 

“I never knew living in 12 was  _ that  _ bad, I mean I’d heard rumors and all, but I guess I just thought it couldn’t really be like that.” 

“Oh it’s like that all right,” Dean spat.

“That’s awful, chief.”

“There’s that nickname again,” Dean said, trying to drag them off topic, he didn’t want to talk about District 12 anymore. 

“Huh?” 

“You’ve been calling me chief since the training center, what’s up with the nickname?” Dean asked. 

Benny laughed lightly as he plucked one of the fish from the fire, “I don’t know, it’s just something we say to our friends back home.” 

“Oh.”

Benny cleared his throat awkwardly, “well, the fish are done.”

“Good, I’m starving.”

 

When the anthem played that night there were no faces in the sky. Dean offered to take first watch and Benny almost began to argue but then thought better of it. While Benny settled down for the night Dean situated himself so he could look out of the small opening in the cave, his machete gripped tightly in his hand. 

 

****Three Days Later****

“Dean! Dean wake up! Wake up!” 

Benny’s panicked voice drew Dean from his sleep and he was soon on his feet, machete drawn, eyes wide. It was then that Dean realized he was soaking wet, “what’s going on?”

“It’s the Gamemakers,” Benny gasped, “they’re flooding the arena.” 

“What?” 

“They must’ve gotten bored with the lack of deaths,” Benny said. “Now come on, we gotta move and get to higher ground.” 

Dean shouldered his backpack and followed Benny outside. When they stepped out of the shelter of the cave they were soaked in seconds, a huge rain storm was falling down on them. A few seconds later a loud rumble shook the ground. “Shit, this can’t be good,” Dean said. 

“We need to find a big tree!” Benny shouted over the wind. 

Dean and Benny began to wade through the water towards one of the trees that was nearest the cave. The water was almost to their chests when Benny started to climb up a big maple tree. Dean was just pulling himself up onto the first branch when there was a crack and lightning struck the water a few feet away from where Dean had just been. 

“Holy shit!” Benny shouted. 

Dean looked behind him to see the water smoking and sizzling as it continued to rise. “Fuck!” Dean hissed as he pulled himself higher. 

He and Benny stopped climbing once the branches started thinning out. “Cutting it fine there weren’t you?” Benny laughed as he wrapped his hands around a branch to steady himself. 

“I’m always cutting it fine,” Dean replied. 

“How long do you think this’ll last?” Benny asked as another rumble of thunder rippled through the arena. 

“It can’t be for too long, they won’t want to kill  _ all  _ of us off,” Dean replied. 

He watched another bolt of lightning hit the water, again causing it to crackle and sizzle with electricity. The rain started to pick up and soon all Dean and Benny could do was hold onto their respective branches and hope they wouldn’t fall out of the tree. 

The sound of a canon followed the next strike of lightning and Dean wondered what poor bastard was just deep fried. There was another strong gust of wind, followed by a particularly large gush of rain as more thunder shook their tree. Within the next two minutes another canon sounded and then the rain started to slow and the floodwater began to drain into the ground, like someone had just pulled the plug in a large bathtub. 

“I guess they decided two dead tributes was enough to start things up again,” Benny said as he started to climb down the tree. 

“I wonder who bit it.” 

“If there are no more deaths today we’ll find out tonight,” Benny said. 

Once they were both down from the tree they went to scope out the damage to the cave. “Everything’s soaked,” Dean grumbled. 

“Yeah, and I bet we aren’t going to be able to build a fire until the ground dries.” 

“Well shit,” Dean sighed as he started to wring out his soaked shirt. 

“Shit doesn’t even begin to cover it,” Benny muttered. 

 

The Gamemakers graced the tributes with a little bit of sun for the rest of the day so Dean and Benny took advantage of that and laid their clothes out to dry while they cleared out the cave of all the debris that had gathered there from the storm.

When night hit, Dean and Benny watched the sky to see who had been victim to the flood. The faces of the the girl tribute from 3, Ava, and the boy tribute from 5, Gadreel, showed in the sky. 

“Well that answers that question,” Dean said. 

“Poor bastards,” Benny sighed. 

Dean nodded in agreement, “it must have been an awful way to go.” 

“Now that the Gamemakers have made their point I suspect tomorrow will have a few deaths, we should rest up so we can be prepared.”

“I can take first watch if you want,” Dean offered.

Benny shook his head, “no, I got it, I’ll wake you when it’s your turn.” 

Dean sighed, “yeah okay.” 


	8. Killing people, fighting things, The Hunger Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just another day in the arena, but Dean and Benny meet up with some friends.

“How many days has it been, do you know?” Dean asked the following morning as he bit into a root.

“I think we’re on Day 16 or something around there,” Benny replied.

“Damn, we’re halfway to a month.”

“Mhmm,” Benny hummed absentmindedly.

“Something on your mind?” Dean asked.

Benny was silent for a second before he met Dean’s eyes, “I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to wait around for other tributes to find us.”

“What are you saying?”

“Now that you’re better, I think we should take a trip to the Cornucopia and see how much damage the flood caused them and if we can find a way to take some of them out,” Benny replied.

Thanks to the gel from a sponsor Dean’s leg was practically fully healed and his bruises were nearly non-existent, so Dean nodded slowly, “okay.”

 

Benny and Dean were crouching in some bushes as they looked out on the careers. The flood had done a significant amount of damage to their camp, most of their food had been washed away and some of their weapons were gone. Michael was pacing in front of the Cornucopia, twirling his sword in his hand while Azazel and Abaddon attempted to make a fire. Lucifer and Meg were nowhere to be found.

“Watch your back, two of them are missing,” Benny whispered.

“Yeah, I noticed that, thanks,” Dean retorted.

“Just trying to be helpful,” Benny replied.

Michael’s voice cut Dean and Benny off as he turned to Azazel and Abaddon, “have you got the fire going yet?!”

“Everything is too damp,” Abaddon complained.

“It’s like we’re trying to make a fire in a puddle of water,” Azazel grumbled.

“Well, hopefully Lucifer and Meg will return with some of our missing belongings,” Michael said.

“Or they’ll return with something much better,” Abaddon said with a smirk.

Dean and Benny followed Abaddon’s gaze to see Lucifer and Meg dragging someone behind them as they triumphantly entered the camp. “Look who we found, stealing our supplies,” Meg said gleefully as she and Lucier dropped the boy they’d captured in front of Michael, along with some knives.

Dean saw that it was the boy from District 11, Uriel. Uriel looked up at Michael with a sneer, “I wasn’t _stealing_. I found them, how was I supposed to know they were yours.”

“Take a look at where you are and you should have the answer to that,” Azazel said as he advanced on the boy.

Michael put a hand out to stop Azazel from going further, “did you find anyone else, he may not be here alone.”

“He was alone when we found him,” Lucifer replied.

“All the same, Abaddon and I will go out and do a quick search,” Michael said.

“What about him?” Azazel asked.

“Dispose of him.”

With a grin Azazel drew his knife and Lucifer grabbed ahold of Uriel. “No, I can help you,” Uriel begged, “I could be a valuable addition to your ranks.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Azazel smirked. One more step brought him in front of Uriel and he quickly drew his blade across the boy’s neck. Uriel made a strangled gurgling noise and then the cannon sounded.

“We should go,” Benny whispered.

“Yeah, I don’t really want to run into Michael,” Dean replied.

“Me either,” Benny agreed.

As quietly as they could Dean and Benny backed out of the bushes and slowly made their way through the woods, keeping behind trees and pausing at every sound. They were halfway to the cave when suddenly someone came bursting through the trees, nearly pulling Dean to the ground.

Dean rolled over, pinning the tribute to the ground as he reached for his machete. Dean almost had his hands on the hilt of the machete when the person under him let out a gasp, “Dean?”

Dean stopped, his eyes returning to the person he’d trapped under him. Now he recognized blond hair and a set of large brown eyes,  “Jo?”

Dean rolled off of Jo and she quickly got to her feet, “I’d love to have a nice reunion, but there was a reason I was running.”

Jo’s eyes were fixed on three figures running through the forest. Two of which were clearly chasing the third, who Dean pegged as Charlie from District 5 because of her red hair. Dean and Benny drew their weapons and Jo pulled out a small knife. When Charlie reached them Dean stepped forward, machete extended as the two other tributes slewed to a halt. It was Raphael from District 11 and Alistair from District 10, they were both holding curved swords and glaring at the tributes in front of them.

“It’s four against two,” Dean said, “I’d say the odds are definitely not in your favor.”

“Maybe not, but we’d still like to try,” Raphael spat.

Alistair surged forward, knocking Benny aside with a quick elbow to the face before flinging himself at Dean. Dean hit the ground hard, the breath leaving him as Alistair climbed on top of him.

“I can’t wait to see the look on everyone’s face when I gut you like a fish,” Alistair sneered. “That little brother of yours is never going to see you again.”

“Are you sure about that?” Dean gasped as Alistair’s sword began to dig into Dean’s throat.

“Positive.”

Dean’s right hand gripped his machete tightly and then he swung, hitting the District 10 tribute on the side of his arm. Alistair let out a yelp of pain and released his hold on Dean. Dean pushed Alistair off of him and then raised his machete and sent it through Alistair’s chest. Dean watched Alistair’s eyes grow wide as blood seeped from his mouth, and then the cannon sounded and Dean retrieved his machete. As he turned to help the other tributes around him, Dean tried not to think about how Alistair was his first, actual, kill.

A moment later another cannon went off and Dean watched Jo pull her knife from Raphael’s chest. Jo’s face was ashen white and Charlie rushed to comfort her. Benny stood up from where he’d been knocked to the ground, blood pooled from his nose and Dean figured it was broken.

“So, what happens now?” Benny asked, his eyes warily moving between Jo and Charlie.

“Allies?” Charlie asked.

Dean and Benny exchanged looks and Dean gave Benny a little nod. “Allies,” Dean agreed.

“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Benny said.

Dean took the lead as they walked back towards the cave. “We need to get that nose tended to,” Charlie said as she walked beside Benny. “I have some bandages in my backpack.”

“That’ll be great, Charlie,” Dean said. “Our supply is running low.”

“Where are we going anyway,” Jo asked from beside Dean.

“Benny found a cave,” Dean replied.

“Yeah, but it’s still a bit damp from the flood,” Benny grunted.

“I’ll bet, that flood was crazy,” Charlie said.

“What’d you two do to survive it?” Dean asked.

“Trees,” Jo replied. “What about you two?”

Dean nodded, “same.”

“How’d you guys meet?” Charlie asked.

Benny chuckled softly, “well Dean nearly got himself killed by the careers and I saved his ass.”

“I had it covered,” Dean retorted, a blush rising to his cheeks.

“Yeah, it sure seemed like you had it covered from where you were hanging between Meg and Azazel while Lucifer beat you senseless,” Benny laughed.

Jo let out a snort, “damn Dean, I thought you were better than that.”

Dean let his shoulder hit the back of Jo’s shoulder, “shut up.”

“In all fairness, I don’t think one person could take on three careers,” Charlie said.

Dean hummed in agreement and the conversation died out as they reached the cave. Dean helped Benny sit down outside of it and Charlie produced her bandages from her backpack. Dean poured some water over his wound to clean it and then assessed the damage.

“How bad is it, doc?” Benny asked through a pained smile.

“It looks broken,” Dean replied. “But I think I have some of that gel left, that’ll help the swelling.” Dean unzipped his backpack and pulled out the container of yellowish gel, unscrewing the lid he dipping his finger in it and smeared it over the bridge of Benny’s nose. Benny grunted in pain and Dean chuckled, “yeah, it hurts at first.”

“Thanks for the warning,” Benny growled.

Charlie handed Dean the bandages and Dean taped up Benny’s nose and sat back to admire his work, “you’ll be fine.”

“Thanks.”

“Yeah well, you patched me up, it’s only fair I repay the favor.”

“Where’d you get that gel stuff from?” Jo asked. “It doesn’t look like anything they’d give you in a backpack.”

“That’s because it’s not,” Dean replied.

“Dean over here has got himself a sponsor,” Benny said.

“You got a parachute?” Charlie gasped.

Dean shrugged, “yeah.”

“Well good for you,” Jo said, her tone was even but Dean heard the note of jealousy that came out with her words.

Dean cleared his throat, “hey Charlie, why don’t you come with me and we can go fishing while Jo and Benny make a fire.”

Charlie glanced at Jo and Jo nodded her approval. Charlie turned back to Dean,  “yeah okay.”

“Awesome.”

Dean and Charlie left the little makeshift camp and headed off towards the river Benny had found. “So, you never said how you and Jo met,” Dean said, trying to strike up a conversation.

“We’d planned to be allies before the Games started,” Charlie replied.

“I see.”

“Our pedestals weren’t far from each other so we ended up together right from the start.”

“That’s good, and you even got a backpack.”

Charlie nodded, “yeah, and Jo got a knife.”

“You two were set then,” Dean said.

“Yeah we’ve done okay so far. It took awhile for us to figure out how to find food but once we did we just kept low and out of sight.”

“Yeah, Benny and I did the same.”

They came up on the river and Dean crouched down by the water’s edge and let his eyes track the fish swimming beneath the surface. When one swam close to his hand Dean gripped it tightly and pulled it up onto the bank where he quickly killed it.

“You’re good at that,” Charlie said.

“I’ve been doing it for almost a month so I better be,” Dean replied.

Dean and Charlie spent about a half an hour trying to catch more fish but by the end of it, they’d only caught three. “I think the Gamemaker’s are diminishing the food,”  Charlie said.

Dean nodded in agreement, “the Games have been going on for too long, they want action.”

“Well, at least we got something,” Charlie said.

“Yeah, let’s bring these fish back to the cave.”

 

Jo and Benny had made a small fire when Dean and Charlie returned. “Is that it?” Benny asked in disappointment when Dean laid the three fish out beside the fire.

“Unfortunately,” Dean replied.

“Damn,” Benny grunted.

“Maybe tomorrow we can take a trip to the marshlands, that’s where Charlie and I were finding frogs and things to eat,” Jo said.

Dean shrugged, “it couldn’t hurt.”

“I suppose so,” Benny said.

“Let’s just eat what we have and then we’ll go from there,” Dean said as he began to gut a fish. They split the fish between them and divided up some roots and berries and Jo and Charlie produced some nuts they’d found by the marshlands.

That night when the anthem played the faces of Alistair, Uriel, and Raphael were projected in the sky. Dean shuddered when he saw Alistair's face and he saw Jo look away at the sight of Raphael.

Dean turned to Jo, “was she the first one you’d, uh,-”

“Killed?” Jo asked with a sniff.

“Yeah.”

Jo nodded, “and Alistair was yours?”

“Yeah.”

They were silent and then Jo said, “You know, I never actually thought I’d get reaped. I weighed my chances every year and I just thought that there were too many other names in that bowl and that there was no way my name would get pulled. Boy was I wrong.” Jo paused to sniff again, “my mother threw a fit when she came to say goodbye. She told me not to trust anyone.”

“Well she’s right,” Dean said, “this is the Hunger Games, there’s only one winner.”

Jo sniffed again and wiped tears from her eyes, “but she specifically told me not to trust you.”

Dean’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “me?”

“The last thing she said to me before I left District 12 was: ‘Joanna Beth you listen to me, that Winchester boy, he’s bad news, you want to stay as far away from him as possible. Don’t trust anyone’.”

“Why would she say that?” Dean asked, “I’ve never even met your mother before, not formally anyway. I mean she owns the Hob, so obviously I’ve seen her but I’ve never had a conversation with her before.” 

“No, but your father knew my father,” Jo said.

“Yeah well my father is dead.”

“So is mine,” Jo spat back.

Dean was silent for a moment, “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah I bet you are.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Jo’s eyes were hard when she met Dean’s gaze, “well I asked my mother why she hated you so much and she told me about how my father used to hunt in the woods outside of District 12-”

“But that’s illegal,” Dean interrupted.

“That’s exactly what your father said when he caught my father coming back from a hunt with two wild turkey’s hanging from his arms. Your father turned my father in and the Peacekeepers killed him. And because of your father the fence he used to sneak under is under 24/7 surveillance so no one can get into the woods. Because of your father, everyone in 12 can continue to starve.”

Dean stared at Jo in shock, “I… I didn’t know, I’m sorry.”

“I don’t want your apologies.”

“Look, I’m not my father, you can trust _me_ ,” Dean said.

Jo sighed softly, “I saw the way you volunteered for your brother and I saw your face when we shook hands, you’re dead set on winning, and I’m sorry but after tomorrow I’m going my own way again. I’m not going to be allies with someone that has such a clear motive to win because I don’t know what you might do when my back is turned or when I’m sleeping.”

Dean nodded slowly, “I understand. But, for what it’s worth, I’d never be able to bring myself to kill you, Jo.”

Jo let out a small laugh, “somehow I doubt that. If we were the last two in the arena I bet you could do it, to get back to your brother you’ll do anything.”

Without waiting for Dean to reply Jo stood up and ducked inside the cave to go to sleep, leaving Dean leaning against a tree, wondering if he’d actually have to kill Jo in the end; because she was right, he might hate himself forever for doing it, but if he _had to_ , absolutely _had to_ , he’d kill her without even batting an eye if it meant he’d get to see Sam again.

 

That night, Dean’s first nightmare struck. Alistair’s bloody lips sneered at him while he advanced on Dean, machete in his chest, as he stared unblinkingly into Dean’s eyes.

Dean woke in the middle of the night to sweat traveling down his face and leaking into his eyes. Charlie was on watch duty and Dean told her he’d take it from there. He saw that she wanted to ask what was wrong but Dean just shook his head and stepped outside into the cool night air.

Dean knew that he’d had to kill at least one more person in order to win the Games, and he knew that when he did the face of that tribute would join Alistair to haunt him every time he closed his eyes.


	9. The Final Showdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think the chapter title speaks for itself.

 

The next day, as planned, Jo and Charlie were leading the way towards the marshlands so that they could try and gather some more food. 

“Will you two keep up!” Jo hissed in a low whisper, not wanting to alert any other tributes to their location.

Dean and Benny had been trailing behind, trying to keep their eyes peeled for movement in the bushes, but they hadn’t realized how far behind they’d been getting. “Sorry,” Dean replied as he and Benny sped up and joined Jo and Charlie near the edge of the forest. 

“We’re practically here,” Charlie said. 

Dean and Benny peered out of the trees to see a thick swampy marshland stretching before them. Together they started forward, Dean was thankful for the waterproof boots because his feet kept sinking into the ground with each step. Jo paused by a pool of swampy water and crouched at the edge of one of the big boggs. Charlie joined her and together they started catching frogs. Dean’s eyes were torn from the two girls when a water snake slithered across his foot, acting quickly, Dean brought his machete down on the snakes head and then picked up the still wriggling body. 

“Nice,” Benny smiled. 

“Good catch,” Charlie praised as she and Jo came to join them with the frogs. 

“Thanks,” Dean replied. 

“Come on, I think we got enough, we shouldn’t stay in the marshes for much longer,” Jo said. 

Dean narrowed his eyes, “why, what happens in the marshes?” 

“Uh, guys,” Charlie’s worried voice made them turn to look at her. Charlie was standing frozen in place as she slowly started to sink. 

“ _ That  _ happens in the marshes,” Jo replied.

“Shit,” Dean cursed. 

“Stay still Charlie,” Jo said. “We’ll get you out.”

“I’ve got some rope,” Dean said. He pulled out the rope he had in his backpack and unraveled it. There was only about five feet of it,  but it was enough to reach Charlie. “Grab this,” Dean said. 

Charlie gripped the rope and began to pull herself forward, she fell twice before she managed to get one of her feet unstuck. “Come on Charlie, you’re almost there!” Jo encouraged. 

With one last heave Charlie pulled her other foot free and then joined the others. “Thanks,” she panted. 

“No problem, now let’s get out of here before the ground decides to swallow all of us,” Dean said. 

Once they were back safely in the trees Dean put the rope back in his backpack and they began to move back towards the cave. They’d only taken about five steps when they found their path blocked by three careers, Azazel, Abaddon, and Meg. “Going somewhere?” Meg asked with a smirk. 

“Run!” Charlie shouted.

Dean and Jo took off running in one direction and Benny and Charlie went in the other. Dean risked a glance behind him to see that Azazel and Abaddon were giving chase to them and they were gaining, fast. Dean knew he couldn’t outrun them, so he drew his machete and spun to face the careers. 

Abaddon slowed to a halt but Azazel kept running after Jo. “I’ve been waiting to repay you for the knife to the shoulder,” she said in a low voice.

Abaddon took a step towards Dean and Dean raised his machete in defense. Abaddon only had a large knife, but the look in her eyes made Dean shiver, she was not to be underestimated. Soon she was charging at Dean and Dean was racing to meet her. She swung her knife towards him but Dean stepped to the side. 

Abaddon spun around to face Dean again, knife raised, but Dean was faster, he brought the machete forward and sent it through her stomach. Abaddon gasped and tried to cut Dean with her knife but Dean knocked it from her hand. 

“Don’t strain yourself, sweetheart,” Dean said in her ear as he pulled the machete from her stomach, causing her to fall to the ground.

The cannon sounded and then Dean was running again, searching for Jo. He came across Azazel standing below a tree and Dean followed his gaze to see Jo making her way upwards through the branches. Dean charged towards Azazel and it wasn’t until the last second that Azazel realized he was there. Dean pinned the boy to the ground and then sliced his throat with his machete. 

“You okay up there?” Dean asked. 

Jo’s head poked out from between some leaves and she flashed Dean a grin, “oh I’m great.” 

As Jo started to make her way down from the tree another cannon sounded and Dean and Jo exchanged glances. “God, I hope it was Meg,” Jo said as she jumped down from the tree. 

“Let’s go find out,” Dean replied. 

He and Jo ran back towards the spot they’d first met up with the careers in and found Charlie and Benny waiting for them. “Took you long enough,” Benny grinned. 

“Looks like we all managed to get out alive,” Charlie said. 

“Yes, and I think it’s time we all went our separate ways. With the deaths of those three careers, we’re now at the final six,” Jo said. 

Dean nodded slowly, “I think Jo’s right.” 

“So this is goodbye,” Charlie said. 

“I’m afraid so,” Jo replied. 

Dean bade his goodbyes to Jo and Charlie and then he watched them disappear through the trees, each going in different directions. Dean turned to Benny and saw that the other boy was looking at Dean with sadness in his eyes. 

“Dean,” Benny said. 

“Yeah?” 

Benny dropped the two weapons he was holding in his hands and then looked back at Dean, “you have to win.” Benny stepped closer to him. “Kill me.” 

Dean stared at Benny in shock, “what?”

“Kill me,” Benny repeated. 

Dean shook his head, “you can’t just ask me to do that, Benny.” 

“Dean, please, I want it to be you.” 

“No, Benny, I can’t,” Dean took a step away from Benny, the faces of the three tributes he’d killed were swimming in his eyes, he couldn’t add Benny to the list. 

“Please,” Benny begged. “Dean, I know nothing is going to stop you from getting back to Sam, I don’t want to die at Michael or Lucifer’s hands, or Jo’s or Charlie’s, please Dean, just do it.” 

“Why?” Dean asked, forcing himself to look back at Benny. 

“Because I know you’ll make it quick,” Benny replied. 

“Benny I--”

“Dean,  _ please _ .” 

Dean knew Benny was right, he knew that if he wanted to see Sam again Benny had to die, but Dean had hoped he wouldn’t be the one to do it. Benny was a good guy, if he had grown up in District 12 they would’ve been good friends. 

Slowly Dean found himself nodding, Benny didn’t deserve to die painfully, Dean could make it quick, Dean could make sure he didn’t suffer. “Okay.” 

Benny nodded stiffly and his shoulder’s straightened, “it’s been fun chief.” 

Dean felt a tear leak out of his eye and roll down his cheek, “you were a good ally Benny, I’ll never forget you.” 

Benny smiled, “you better win, you hear me. And, tell your brother I say hi.” 

“I will.” 

Benny shut his eyes and then Dean let his arm swing forward, bringing the machete up to Benny’s head. The cannon went off before Benny even hit the ground and Dean felt more tears drip off his chin. He stepped around Benny’s body, walked five minutes, and then collapsed against a tree.

A few moments later a voice boomed out around the arena, “congratulations tributes! You have made it to the final five. I urge you all to find your own way to the Cornucopia, or we will drive you there. Good luck tributes, and may the odds be ever in your favor.” 

Dean forced himself to stand. This was it. This was the end, the final showdown between the remaining five tributes. Dean gripped his machete tightly and then let his backpack fall from his shoulder, he wouldn’t be needing it anymore, it was just dead weight on him now. 

Dean turned his head towards the sky, hoping that a camera was on him right now, “I’ll be home soon Sammy, I can’t wait to see you.” 

 

Dean stepped into the circle that surrounded the Cornucopia and immediately Lucifer charged towards him. Before Lucifer reached him Dean saw Charlie and Jo emerge from the bushes and make a run towards Michael. 

Dean’s focus returned to Lucifer as he hit Dean at full speed, pulling him to the ground and knocking away Dean’s machete. Lucifer’s fist connected with Dean’s face twice before Dean managed to get in a punch of his own, knocking Lucifer off balance. Dean’s hand scratched at the ground for his machete as Lucifer came back in with another punch. Dean heard the cannon go off but he didn’t have time to worry about who it was because Lucifer’s hits were becoming stronger. Dean felt the blood building in his mouth and instead of spitting it onto the ground he turned his head and spat straight in Lucifer’s face. 

Lucifer recoiled in disgust which gave Dean the slight advantage he needed to grab his weapon. Dean’s hand gripped his machete as another cannon sounded. The machete punched through Lucifer’s gut before the other boy could get another hit in and Dean watched Lucifer struggle to breathe for a moment before the sound of the cannon split the sky. 

Dean pushed Lucifer off of him and stumbled to his feet. Dean’s eyes found the bodies of Charlie and Jo before they landed on his final opponent, Michael. 

Michael didn’t waste a second, he ran towards Dean with his sword raised. Michael’s sword whistled past Dean’s ear as he sidestepped to avoid the blow. Michael turned to swing at Dean again and this time Dean raised his machete to block the strike, but Michael’s sword went clean through Dean’s machete, slicing it in two, leaving Dean weaponless as a sneer grew on Michael’s face. 

Dean stepped backwards as Michael’s sword came flashing towards him again. Quick as lightning, Dean ducked under the blow, bringing his hand upwards at the same time. His fingers closed around Michael’s sword hand. Dean twisted Michael’s hand backwards and Michael screamed as Dean heard a snap. Michael dropped his sword and fell backwards, blood dripping down his wrist. Dean picked up Michael’s sword and advanced on him. Michael tried to get to his feet but Dean grabbed Michael by the collar of his shirt and sent the sword’s blade through his heart. The cannon sounded and Dean collapsed to the ground, letting the sword fall from his hands. 

He’d done it, he’d won. He was going to see Sam again, he was going home. 


	10. Alive, but Damaged

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean has his final interviews and then he returns to District 12. But Dean is not the same person he was before the arena.

Dean didn’t say a word as doctors surrounded him, patching up any small wounds he had and clearing him of the scars he’d obtained in the arena. Once the doctors were done, Dean was handed over to his prep team. 

“I can’t believe it!” Pamela squealed when she burst through the door. 

“I always knew he was a fighter,” Balthazar said as he punched Dean lightly on his shoulder. 

“I was rooting for him,” Ash added. 

“This years Games were just  _ amazing _ ,” Donna said. 

Dean had to stop himself from making some sharp comments as he sighed, “guys, can you please just do whatever it is you need to do so I can get this stupid interview over with and go home.” 

“My thoughts exactly.” 

Dean felt a smile grow on his face as Rowena stepped through the door. “Rowena,” Dean grinned. 

“Hello Dean.” Rowena turned to his prep team and waved her hand, “you all can leave, I can handle this alone.” There was much grumbling from Dean’s prep team but they left the room and then it was just Dean and Rowena. 

Dean let her put him in a dark black and red suit and then she led him to the backstage of the large auditorium he’d been in before the Games. Dean heard Gabriel being introduced and then Gabriel’s voice rang out in Dean’s ears. 

“It is my  _ honor _ to introduce to you, the victor of the 60th annual Hunger Games, Dean Winchester!” 

Dean stepped out onto the stage, forcing a smile onto his face and letting his steps take him towards Gabriel. Gabriel extended his hand and Dean shook it before he took his seat. 

“Dean,” Gabriel began, “you are not only the victor of this years Hunger Games, you are the first tribute to win in District 12 since your mother!” 

Dean shrugged, “like mother like son I guess.” 

Gabriel laughed and so did the audience, “ever so cheeky, am I right folks!?” There was another round of small laughter and then Gabriel set his eyes on Dean again. “Now Dean, you gave quite the performance in the arena. You have the highest kill count out of all the tributes, starting off with no kills and then racking up  _ six  _ kills in the last two days.” 

Dean tried not to shudder at the news that he had killed the most tributes in the arena, it was something that would haunt him forever. “I was just doing what I needed to do to survive,” Dean said. 

“Of course you were, of course you were,” Gabriel agreed. “It was all about getting back to Sam, I’ll bet he’ll be just  _ thrilled  _ to see you again!” 

“Yes, I’m excited to see him again,” Dean replied. 

 

After the interview Dean was brought to see President Zachariah, who congratulated him and placed a crown on his head. There were a few more smaller interviews with reporters from The Capitol and then finally, Dean was placed on the train that would take him back to District 12. 

Bobby pulled Dean into a hug when he saw him and Rufus gave Dean a firm handshake, Chuck waved shyly at Dean and Dean offered him a smile in return. The train ride consisted of Dean shutting himself away in one of the rooms and letting his hand fiddle with the amulet. 

Finally, the train stopped moving and Bobby knocked on Dean’s door. Dean shot out of the room and towards the door. He jumped down from the train, ignoring the cameras that were being shoved in his face, and sprinted towards the figure that was standing in front of the crowd that had gathered to welcome him home. 

Sam broke away from the crowd and ran towards Dean, arms wide. Sam hit Dean hard, nearly knocking the breath from him, but Dean wrapped his arms around his little brother and buried his face in his shoulder. “Hiya Sammy,” Dean laughed, he felt tears in his eyes and he choked back a sob as Sam whispered, “Dean.”

“I told you I’d come home, didn’t I? I told you I’d win.” 

“I didn’t doubt you for a second,” Sam murmured. 

When the two brothers finally pulled apart Dean stood up to see Cas and Jody standing off to the side. Dean hugged Jody first and she told him that Sam had been good while he’d been away. When Dean turned to Cas, Cas grinned, “hello, Dean.” 

“Hey Cas,” Dean smiled, pulling his best friend into a hug. 

After his reunions Sam and Dean met up with Bobby and Rufus again and they led him off towards Victors Village, where Dean would now be living with Sam. When they entered the house Sam let out a gasp; there were ornate rugs, sparkling countertops, plush mattresses, and a cabinets full of food. “We get to live  _ here _ ?” Sam breathed in disbelief. 

Dean wrapped his arm around Sam’s shoulders and chuckled, “yup.” 

“It’s so big,” Sam said as he began to wander around the house. 

“And it’s all ours,” Dean grinned. 

****

_ Pain shot up Dean’s leg as he sprinted through the forest, his hand closed over the hilt of his knife and he threw it, sending it straight into the back of the girl in front of him. She fell with a yelp, but Dean kept going, he didn’t look back, the screams were enough to tell him what was going on. The wolf was eating her alive. _

 

_ “I can’t wait to see the look on everyone’s face when I gut you like a fish.” _

 

_ “I’ve been waiting to repay you for the knife to the shoulder.” _

 

_ The man under Dean let out a strangled cry as he pushed the blade into his throat.  _

 

_ “Kill me. Dean please, I want it to be you.”  _

 

_ Dean felt blood drip onto him from the boy he’d just stabbed with a machete. He felt the handle of a sword in his hands as he watched the life leave the eyes of the boy he’d just killed to ensure his victory.  _

 

The faces of Bela, Alistair, Abaddon, Azazel, Benny, Lucifer, and Michael swam before Dean’s eyes as he woke with a start, sweat coating him like a bloody blanket, thick, wet, and warm. 

Dean made his way into the kitchen and pulled a bottle of whiskey from a cabinet before sitting down in a chair in the living room. It had been four months since Dean had won the Hunger Games and he’d been trying to pretend everything was back to normal for Sammy, but for Dean, everything was very far from back to normal. 

Dean had only gotten about four hours of sleep a night since his return, he’d had nightmares almost every night, and he’d drank his way through more bottles of alcohol than even knew existed, but he still didn’t feel better and he knew he never would. 

****

Dean went on his victory tour, never saying much when he was placed in front of a microphone. In District 7 Dean talked briefly about Benny and his alliance, he didn’t mention Bela. Yes, he blamed himself for her death, even though he didn’t actually kill her; still, he left her as an unmentioned topic, she didn’t have any family anyway. In District 5 Dean spoke about Charlie, but he hadn’t known her all too well, so he didn’t say too much about her either. 

Finally, they’d made it back to District 12 and Dean had again disappeared into a bottle. It was late one night when Dean found himself in the burned down remains of his old home, a bottle to his lips and tears on his cheeks. He was rocking back and forth in a corner when Bobby found him. 

“Your brother’s been worried sick about you, boy,” he said as he crouched down beside Dean. 

“I’m fine,” Dean slurred. 

Bobby pulled the empty bottle of whiskey from Dean’s hand and tossed it aside, “you’re not fine, Dean, you need a cold shower and some food.” 

“What’s the point?” Dean asked, his eyes barely focused on Bobby as he leaned forward, “what’s the  _ point _ ?”

“The  _ point  _ is that you’ve got a brother out there who you  _ risked your life for _ and you hardly spend any time with him!” Bobby spat. 

Dean felt guilt prick at him and he turned his head away as another tear dropped from him his eye, “I know, but… I’m not the same person I was Bobby…” 

“You think I am?!” Bobby scoffed. “You think Rufus is?! None of us come out of that arena the same as we went in! Your brother knows that, Dean! He knows what you’ve been through, he  _ watched it happen _ !” 

Dean nodded slowly, “I know. I just… I don’t… I don’t want him to see me… differently.” 

“You’re a hero to him, Dean.” 

Dean looked up at Bobby, a small smile on his lips, “I am?”

“”Course you are ya idjit, you volunteered for him, do you really think he doesn’t know what that means?”

“I never really thought about it,” Dean mumbled. 

“Well start thinking.” 

****

“Dean, are you even listening to me?” Cas asked. 

Dean snapped from his thoughts and looked over at his best friend who was leaning against his counter, “sorry, what?”

Cas rolled his eyes, “I was telling you about Lisa, she doesn’t live too far from here and I’m pretty sure she has a crush on you.” 

Dean shrugged, “so?”

Cas sighed, “ _ so _ , go ask her out.” 

“Why?”

“You need to start living your life Dean, you can’t hide in a bottle forever.” 

Dean raised a bottle to his lips and smirked, “watch me.” 

“Sam’s got his eyes on a girl and I think you should step up and get yourself a girlfriend before your brother beats you to it.” 

“Oh I’ve heard all about Jessica,” Dean laughed, “according to Sam, she’s quite a pistol.” 

“Jessica Moore is definitely something,” Cas agreed.

Dean sighed and the put his bottle on the table, “I’ll think about talking to this Lisa chick, okay?” 

Cas smiled, “thinking about it is better than saying no all together, so I’ll take it.” 

****

“You totally cheated,” Sam whined as Dean pulled in the stack of chocolates he’d just won off of his hand in poker. 

“I did not,” Dean said with a grin. 

“You definitely did,” Sam retorted.

Dean’s grin grew, “ya’know Sammy, you’re the only one who’s ever accused me of cheating in poker.” 

“Well that’s just because you only played drunk people in the Hob, they didn’t even remember losing to you.” 

Dean laughed, “they’d just wake up with empty pockets.” 

“You were unbelievable,” Sam said with a shake of his head.

“I needed to get money somehow after Dad died, we’d have been dead within a week if I didn’t hustle the people at the Hob. Besides, a lot of the people there had a least a few coins to spare anyway, I never took too much.” 

“Yeah well now you’re stealing chocolates, which in my opinion, is worse.” 

“I’m not stealing.” 

Sam’s lips formed a pout, “oh really?” 

“Alright, little brother, I’ll give you a chance to win ‘em back,” Dean said. 

Sam crossed his arms but sighed, “fine.”

Dean grinned mischievously and then dealt the cards.


	11. Reaped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's no way I can summarize this thought spoiling it, but I think the chapter title is kind of telling ;)

It had been a whole year since Dean had headed off to The Capitol and Dean tried to ignore what day it was, but he knew it wouldn’t do any good. Even though Dean had volunteered for Sam it didn’t mean that his little brother’s name wasn’t going to be in the reaping bowl, and today was Reaping Day. Dean was the only one that got off the hook, but Sam, Sam was still struggling to breathe out of water, hoping that the world would be so kind as to let him fall back into the water and swim away. 

Sam’s name would only be in there twice, but Dean still worried, last year Sam’s name was in there once and he was still picked. The probability of Sam’s name being drawn again was practically zero, but Dean couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that was eating at him. 

“It’ll be okay Dean,” Sam said. 

“It better be okay,” Dean replied in a growl. 

“Let’s just go get it over with.” 

Dean and Sam walked to the center square and Dean watched Sam head off to his age group while Dean wandered over to the side of the stage where the victors stood. Bobby and Rufus were already there, debating on who they’d be mentoring. It had just hit Dean that he’d have to mentor whoever was reaped too, the thought scared him. 

Chuck took the stage and cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “Hello, and um, welcome to another Hunger Games.” Chuck moved his hand over the bowl filled with girl’s names and plucked a paper from its depths. “The female tribute for District 12 is, Jessica Moore.” 

Dean felt his stomach lurch, not Jessica. Dean found Sam in the crowd of thirteen year olds and saw that there were tears on his cheeks as he watched Jess step onto the stage. 

Chuck then moved over to the boy’s bowl and let his hand fall into the names. “And the male tribute from District 12 is... ” 

 

Chuck paused, his face drained of color, his eyes flicked over to Dean for a second and Dean knew before Chuck even spoke, he knew who’d been picked.

 

“Samuel Winchester.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be a sequel so stay tuned!  
> If you enjoyed this, check out some of my other work and please let me know what you think!


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